March 12-13, 2027
The 5th Annual Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition, hosted by the University of Illinois College of Law’s Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism, will take place from March 12-13, 2027. The competition will be held in Chiago, IL. The Seventh Circuit Moot Court Competition is the only national moot court competition that features a competition problem dedicated to issues of legal professionalism. This year’s problem addresses prosecutorial misconduct and the admission (or exclusion) of generative AI materials.
In past years, we have hosted the competition at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse and hope to do so again. We will host a large, welcome reception the evening prior to the competition starting (March 11) at a large, global, Chicago based law firm. The judges are overwhelmingly sitting judges from across the Seventh Circuit, including Seventh Circuit judges, federal district court judges in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and judges from the Illinois Court of Appeals and the Illinois Supreme Court.
12 teams will be selected to compete. The application deadline is November 15, 2026. We anticipate announcing the selected competing schools shortly after the deadline passes. The registration fee is $800 per team. Selection preference will be given to schools located within the Seventh Circuit. The preference will only apply to one team per school in the circuit. If spots remain after the Seventh Circuit schools receive preference for one team, selection will be open to any school in the country that applies by the deadline of November 15. If spots remain after Seventh Circuit schools receive preference for one team and teams from outside of the circuit apply for one team, we will select a second team from a school that requested two teams via a raffle.
If you have any questions regarding the competition please contact the Anderson Center Director Professor Tony Ghiotto, aghiotto@illinois.edu.